“It's not hard to understand why an accomplished director like Gus Van Sant (whose most recent success, Good Will Hunting, gave him mainstream clout) would be interested in making this film. The lure of an exact remake presents a tremendous challenge. Unfortunately, it was undoubtedly a lot more stimulating for Van Sant and his crew to make Psycho than it is for an audience to watch it. Curiosity is going to be one of the primary reasons why people pay money to see this movie; boredom will be the predominant result.” PeopleHardReasonWould BeFilmChallengesResultsPayWatchesAudienceDirectorsPrimariesReason WhyBoredomAccomplishedHuntingMainstreamCrewVansGood WillLureRemakesPsychoCloutGusWill Hunting Author:James Berardinelli
“After the second Die Hard, Bruce Willis stated he would never do another. He should have stayed firm in his resolve. If quality is any indication (and it may be, with all the available blockbusters), box office returns will be disappointing this time around and, if nothing else, that will do to John McClane what dozens of assorted bad guys couldn't manage: kill him.” IfsShouldMayHardGuyDiesQualityReturnOfficeShould HaveBoxesAvailableManageFirmResolveDozenBad GuysIndicationDisappointingBox OfficeBlockbusterAssorted Author:James Berardinelli
“Live Free or Die Hard may work better for an audience that doesn't know much about the series is than it will for Die Hard die hards, who will be wondering who that impersonator is and what he did with the real John McClane. The original Die Hard came out of nowhere to blitz the 1988 summer box office. The fourth installment arrives with a weight of expectations that Atlas would have trouble shouldering and, when the dust settles in September, it's unlikely that Live Free or Die Hard will be one of this year's big success stories.” KnowsYearsMayRealHardStoriesBigsDiesWonderAudienceTroubleOfficeSummerExpectationsWeightOriginalsSeriesBoxesDustSettlingFourthSeptemberUnlikelyBox OfficeAtlasSuccess StoriesLive FreeBlitzImpersonators Author:James Berardinelli
“Parodies are hard to do well, as is shown by the mediocrity of so many recent attempts. No matter how ripe a genre is for satirizing, unless you know how to do it, there are no guarantees.” KnowsWellsMatterHardKnow HowGenreGuaranteesMediocrityRipeParodyGenre Is Author:James Berardinelli
“It's rare that the sequel to a good movie lives up to expectations. Such is the case with Die Hard 2, the somewhat-muddled but still entertaining return of Bruce Willis' John McClane. Fortunately, the original Die Hard was good enough that there's room for the second installment to be enjoyable while still not matching the pace or possessing the flair of its predecessor.” StillsHardEnoughDiesRoomsCasesReturnExpectationsOriginalsGood EnoughPaceEntertainingEnjoyablePossessingGood MovieSequelsPredecessorsMatchingFlair Author:James Berardinelli
“Die Hard represents the class of modern action pictures and the standard by which they must be judged. Few films falling into the "mindless entertainment" genre have as much going for them as this movie. Not only is it a thrill-a-minute ride, but it has one of the best film villains in recent memory, a hero everyone can relate to, dialogue that crackles with wit, and a lot of very impressive pyrotechnics.” HardActionFilmDiesFallMemoriesClassModernMinutesHeroStandardsEntertainmentWitDialogueRelateGenreJudgedVillainThrillImpressiveMindlessBest FilmVery ImpressivePyrotechnics Author:James Berardinelli
